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Abstract

My involvement in community development in Auckland spans forty years. It began with community work for Manukau City when the state housing suburbs of Ōtara and Māngere were being created. There was little accommodation by the agencies that were creating these new suburbs for the wellbeing of new residents. Apart from schools and churches, few facilities existed and my time was spent within the community setting up new services and facilities.
Local authorities in metropolitan areas were particularly concerned at the rate of change due to rural-to-urban migration exacerbating problems like housing, social service accessibility and unemployment. Community workers were busy trying to find resources to meet an expanding demand and at the same time fostering community engagement processes. The 1970s and 80s was a period of innovation, with the creation of new community development models such as Community Volunteers Inc. and community schools.
Change came in the mid-1980s with neo-liberal policies, local authority restructuring and the shifting of power from elected councillors (key supporters of community development) to management. New public management placed pressures on community development staff and new ways of working had to be found. Community organisations were also affected and contracting for services became the norm. With the financial downturn in the economy in 2008, government agencies forced community organisations to do more with less. In spite of this, community organisations have shown much resilience and community work is recognised as an essential part of civil society.

Ngā Upoko Tukutuku (Māori Subject Headings):

Keywords:

Auckland, New Zealand, New Zealand, community development, 1970s, 1980s, local government, neoliberalism, history

ANZSRC Field of Research:

111708 Health and Community Services, 160702 Counselling, Welfare and Community Services

Copyright Holder:

Unitec ePress

Copyright Notice:

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